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# Natasha Volata

#### by Mark D F Shirley

The copyright of this article remains with the original author. Articles may be copied or distributed freely for personal non-profit use, provided that the author is properly credited.

#### Natasha Volata, follower of Merinita

### Background

Natasha is an unusual member of House Merinita in that she has little interest in the fae. In the last century or so, a timy minority of Merinita have returned to the teachings of their Founder, Merinita, rejecting the philosophy of Quendalon, who introduced faerie magic to the house. Palamindes was one of these, and when he saw the young Natasha feeding wild birds from her hand, he knew immediately that he had found an apprentice. When he approached the girl, he was driven away by the fierceness of a magpie, who swoped down from a nearby tree and started attacking him. Distressed at the bird's behaviour, Natasha called out to it, and it ceased its furious attack. Natasha accepted the offer of apprenticeship from Palamindes, but he and the magpie never saw eye to eye. Naturally, Animal and Auram proved to be her most proficient arts, and though Palamindes loved her dearly, she often exasperated him with her absent-mindedness.

Now a maga, Natasha is so closely tied to local birdlife that she often has trouble relating to the rest of the world around her. She always migrates, for example, in the spring and autumn, spending the winter at her former master's covenant, and the summer at her own, much further to the north. Natasha's constant companion is the magpie, and a small flock of songbirds follow her wherever she goes. Each of these birds as a name in its own language - the magpie's name approximates to *ppruk*. The flock of birds numbers about twenty, but it is often not the same group of individuals. A few, like a robin, have followed her for many years, with their children taking over when the adult dies. Others are drawn from the surrounding area

#### Appearance

A fragile-looking woman with porcelein-white skin and long blond hair. Commonly wears long dresses of black, dark blue and/or white, but is haphazard in her dress sense, and the clothes rarely match. When in thought she tends to trill softly to herself..

Name: Natasha Volata

Parens: Palamindes

House: Merinita

Age: 30 (apparent 30)

Size: 0

### Characteristics:

Int | +1 | sharp | Str | -2 | small | Prs | +1 | delicate | Dex | +1 | graceful
Per | +3 | keen eyed | Sta | 0 |  | Com | 0 |  | Qik | +1 | jumpy

### Virtues

Affinity (Birds) +1
Magical Animal Companion +2
Animal Companions +4
Animal Ken +1

### Flaws

Major Magical Deficiency (Terram) -3
Common Fear (cats) -2
Deleterious Circumstances (Common & Minor - when inside) -2
Fragile Constitution -1

### Personality Traits

Scatter-brained +2
Brave -1
Naive +2
Kind +2
Devoted to Birds +3

#### Reputations

none

#### Confidence

3

### Abilities

Speak Latin (quickly) 5
Speak Own Language (quickly) 4
Scribe Latin (in haste) 3
Magic Theory (inventing spells)5
Order of Hermes Lore (Aurum Magi) 2
Concentration (Auram) 2
Parma Magica (Corpus) 2
Certamen (Animal) 2
Finesse (Corpus) 2
Bird Affinity (songbirds) 5
Sing (whistling) 2
Legerdemain (shiny objects) 3
Animal Ken (birds) 3
Folk Ken (children) -3

### Hermetic Arts

Creo | 0 | Animal | 7 | Ignem | 0
Intellego | 4 | Aquam | 0 | Imaginem | 0
Muto | 7 | Auram | 7 | Mentem | 0
Perdo | 0 | Corpus | 7 | Terram | 0
Rego | 7 | Herbam | 0 | Vim | 0

#### Wizard's Sigil

Birds in the area take wing

### Grimoire

Tongue of the Birds (InAn 20) +16
The Gentle Beast (ReAn 20) +14
Talons of the Wind (MuAu 20) +14
Cloak of Soft Feathers (MuCo/An 30) +19 - Like Cloak of Black Feathers, but allows Natasha to take the form of a songbird. This spell was invented especially for her by her pater.
Rise of the Feathery Body (ReCo 5) +14
Eyes of the Hawk (MuCo/An 5) +19
Eyes of the Owl (MuCo/An 5) +19
The Cock's Crow (PeMe 15) +0 - this spell is identical to Lay to Rest the Haunting Spirit.
Notes of a Delightful Sound (MuIm 5) +7
Broom of the Winds (ReAu 15) +14
Jupiter's Resounding Blow (CrAu 10) +7

### Own Spells

Curse of the Lark's Tongue (MuCo/An 20) +19; R: Near. D: Sun, T: Ind. This spell causes the target's tongue to be transformed into that of a bird, meaning that every sound they make is that of a bird. The traget's Communication determines the sweetness of the sound - a person with high Communication might produce the liquid trill of a lark, but a negative Communication would mean the ugly croak of a raven.

Enchantment of the Carrier Pigeon (Cr/ReAn 20) +13; R: Touch, D: Sun/Moon, T: Small. This spell creates a small bird (Siz -4) which will then fly unerringly to any location that the caster knows or has an Arcane Connection to. The spell lasts until the bird reaches its location, or Sun, whichever comes first. This spell is lower level than that in the Wizard's Grimoire because of the Creo component - the spell creates the messenger first. A message or small object, weighing no more than a few ounces can be attached to the bird's leg.

The Avenging Flock (ReAn 30) +19; R: Near, D: Conc, T: Group. This spell calls a flock of birds from the surrounding area and causes them to attack a specified target. This attack means the immediate loss of concentration, and will usually cause enough of a distraction to prevent the target from doing anything. Natasha dislikes using this spell because she is worried that a bird might get hurt, though they are generally small enough targets to prevent this. The damage is usually no more than +3 (treat all of the birds' attacks as a single attack, and ignore botches), but if this spell is cast where falcons or other raptors could heed its call, this damage can be more severe.